Wanted Pakistani terrorist Abu Zarar gunned down in Poonch encounter

Jammu: In a major development, security forces gunned down a wanted Pakistani terrorist Abu Zarar of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in an encounter in Pooch district on Tuesday.

Police sources said Abu Zarar of the LeT was killed in an ongoing gunfight in Bafliyaz village of Surankote in Poonch district.

“He was on the wanted list of the security forces. The area where the encounter is going on is densely forested… Reinforcements have been rushed to the area to tighten the cordon as one more militant is likely to be hiding there. Abu Zarar was operating in Rajouri and Poonch districts. One AK-47 rifle, 4 magazines, a grenade, and some Indian currency has been recovered from the possession of the slain militant”, IANS quoted sources as saying.

The gunfight reportedly erupted after a joint team of the police and the army cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about the presence of terrorists. As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where the terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter, IANS reported.

“The elimination of Abu Zarar indeed is a big success for security forces as he was tasked with reviving terrorism in Rajouri-Poonch region, apart from carrying out spectacular attacks on security forces,” a senior officer told News18.

(With inputs from Agencies)